CVNE Viña Real Rioja Gran Reserva 1976

Barcelona
is a long way to travel for a bottle of Rioja, so rest assured that
when I picked this bottle up from one of the excellent wine shops in Barcelona
airport, it was not my sole reason for travelling there. I had just spent an
enjoyable few days in the city, and whilst waiting for my return flight I found
plenty of interest in the aforementioned shops; not only an impressive selection
of Rioja, from a bevy of top producers, in vintages both young and mature, but also
a handsome selection of wines from elsewhere, especially
Bordeaux, including
Petrus, Latour,
Cheval-Blanc and
Lafite. And many more besides.

One of three bottles that caught my eye and which I subsequently purchased,
this is one of the flagship wines from the
Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España, more conveniently referred to as
CVNE. It makes an attractive pair with the
Imperial, CVNE's other gran
reserva stalwart. The Viña Real range was created in the 1940s, and includes a
reserva and gran reserva, the latter comprising 95% Tempranillo and 5% Graciano,
always a selection of fruit from the Rioja Alavesa region. It is fermented in
stainless steel, with pumping over, before seeing the traditional Rioja
treatment of oak-ageing, although in a mix of both French and American wood. It
is often said to have a greater finesse than the more tannic Imperial, and this
correlates in some small way with the bottle shapes chosen - a Burgundy style
for the Viña Real, a tall-shouldered Bordeaux style for the Imperial. These are
both firmly in the traditional style, and I love them; they make a great match
for roast lamb, as do many mature Riojas.

The
bottle was in very good condition, with no real concerns under the
capsule. The cork, although soft, was extracted without too much difficulty; the bottom fell away into a few small pieces, but they came out with the
corkscrew rather than falling into the wine, so the whole process was quite
simple. I decanted the wine immediately, with just a little sediment coming into
the decanter. This never really bothers me, as long as the coarser elements are
removed, but there was more sediment here than I am used to with old Rioja. I
was pouring and drinking within the hour.
It has a wonderful colour, still quite deep in appearance, mahogany-red core, with a
tawny, golden brown rim. The nose certainly has complexity starting off with
some volatility, in the shape of some highly polished wood and leather, then roasted,
macerated fruits. Then follow aromas of sweetly cooked meats, tobacco, cigars
and even a little coffee which is appealing, although I tend to associate this
aroma with young wines rather than old. The palate has finesse; it is full, with
soft, chalky tannins having a background presence, behind a fine texture and wave after wave
of complex flavours, like those characteristics found on the nose. It is warm,
balanced, firm and still with quite a little grip, but elegant, rather silky and
certainly delicious, with its broad, complete, harmonious presence. It ends with
an admirably warm, lingering finish. This is really very, very good indeed. I
can now look forward with anticipation to one of my other purchases, the
corresponding 1976 Imperial. 19/20 (14/5/07)